1) Pokémon (Series)
Systems: Game Boy, Game Boy Color (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001)
This, my friends, is a living travesty. There is no reason that all six Game Boy Pokémon installments shouldn’t be available on 3DS’s Virtual Console. Of all Nintendo’s major franchises, the original Pokémon games are perhaps some of the most neglected. As much as I enjoyed seeing the series transition to 3D with X and Y, these humbler titles remain as charming and fun as the day they were put on store shelves. There’s certainly no lack of ambition back in the Game Boy and Game Boy Color days, either, with a wealth of Pokémon to catch and trade. Pokémon is possibly one of the most important franchises of the past twenty years, on any console, and its history is just as important as its future. The series synonymous with Nintendo’s handhelds needs to be on 3DS.
Now that you’ve seen our top ten, what Game Boy and Game Boy Color titles are you still waiting to see on the 3DS Virtual Console? Let us know in the comments!
Great list, but I’d add Pokemon Pinball and Solar Striker, a couple of my own personal favorites.
Excellent list Robert.
Upon beginning to read, I was all set to log in and give the obligatory “but I would have included such & such.”
However you hit my personal top two (Bionic Commando: Elite Forces and Metal Gear Solid.) These two game are underrated in my opinion (especially MGS) and deserve to be played by another generation of gamers. All the rest are great too.
You nailed it. I would especially like to see the Donkey Kong Land trilogy and Metal Gear make it (in celebration of Tropical Freeze and Ground Zeroes hitting Wii U, right? ;^) but everything on that list absolutely belongs there.
A super-long-shot that I would be thrilled beyond all reason to see is Game Boy Camera. Granted, the awesome/awful camera sensor’s subtle distortion would have to be faked, and its crazy infrared allergies would be absent, but with cameras inside and out, the emulation layer could totally deal with turning the camera head around, and “printing” could (finally!) give us easily-accessed image files. I’m probably in the minority, but every time Nintendo dabbles in artistic stuff like this (Mario Paint, WarioWare DIY, Flipnote Studio) I’m convinced it’s the greatest thing ever. :^)
Being able to transfer Pokemon from Virtual Console games to X & Y would be great. Also… I miss being able to see Pikachu’s excited face from Yellow. I could never bring myself to store him away!
Luckily in Europe we are getting Super Mario Bros. Deluxe next week – and in fact got it for free by linking a Nintendo ID to the 3DS. I really need to give it a go!